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Graphene quantum dots /LaCoO3/attapulgite heterojunction photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

A new nanocomposite of graphene quantum dots/LaCoO3/attapulgite (GQDs/LaCoO3/ATP) was prepared by a facile impregnation method and was applied to degradation of the organic pollutants as photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. Multiple techniques were used to characterize the structures, morphologies and photocatalytic activities of samples. The photocatalytic activity of the GQDs/LaCoO3/ATP nanocomposites was effectively evaluated using Methylene blue (MB), antibiotic agent chlortetracycline (CHL) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC). The as-synthesized GQDs/LaCoO3/ATP nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than LaCoO3/ATP, which showed a broad spectrum of photocatalytic degradation activity. The results of ESR and free radicals trapping experiments indicated that ∙OH and h+ were the main species for the photocatalytic degradation. GQDs played a significant role in the photocatalytic activity improvement of LaCoO3/ATP, increasing the visible light absorption, slowing the recombination and improving the charge transfer.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (51674043, 51478285), Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), Jiangsu Technology Support Program (BE2014100, BE2015103, BE2016654) and Jiangsu International Cooperation Project (BZ2015040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials and Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Zhu & Xiazhang Li

  2. R&D Center of Xuyi Attapulgite Applied Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Xuyi, 211700, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Zhu & Xiazhang Li

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  1. Wei Zhu
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Correspondence to Xiazhang Li.

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Zhu, W., Li, X. Graphene quantum dots /LaCoO3/attapulgite heterojunction photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic activity. Appl. Phys. A 123, 272 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-0907-4

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